Killed at Kanchpur bridge?

Narayanganj panel mayor Nazrul Islam and six others were murdered under Kanchpur bridge in Narayanganj, reveal leaked phone conversations allegedly between prime suspect Nur Hossain and a former Rab official. The seven were taken to a sand quarry, owned by Hossain, beside the Shitalakkhya river, and then murdered, according to the phone conversation reportedly at the time of the abduction and murder of the seven. The Daily Star could not independently verify whether the voices were indeed of Hossain and the ex-Rab man. However, law enforcers probing the seven murders said they had copies of the audio tape. At one stage of the dialogue, an impatient and irate voice, allegedly of Hossain, was heard, “What kind of … are you that you need so long to kill?” According to the contents of the audio tape, Hossain and the ex-Rab official had been in touch over the phone throughout -- from abduction to dumping of the bodies into the Shitalakkhya. However, it was not clear from the phone conversation whether the ex-Rab man alone committed the murders or someone had helped him. On condition of anonymity, a police official involved in the seven-murder probe told The Daily Star that police had information that the seven were made unconscious by injections of drugs. They were taken to Narsingdi and then brought to Kanchpur where they were murdered at night. The bodies were then taken by a trawler from Kanchpur to Kalagachhia of Bandar upazila, and dumped into the Shitalakkhya river. On April 27, Nazrul and his four aides, and lawyer Chandan Sarker and his driver were kidnapped almost at the same time after they had left the court area by two cars. Six bodies, including those of Nazrul and Chandan, were found floating in the Shitalakkhya on April 30 while the other was found the next day. On May 3, Nazrul's father-in-law Shahidul Islam alleged that Narayanganj ward-4 Councillor Nur Hossain gave a bribe of Tk 6 crore to Rab men for killing Nazrul. Three Rab officials -- Lt Col Tareque Sayeed Mohammad, Maj Arif Hossain and Lt Commander Masud Rana -- were forced into retirement following the allegations. They were later arrested and placed on remand over their alleged involvement in the abductions and killings. Meanwhile, police yesterday said they had extracted information from one of Hossain's accomplices that the Narayanganj ward councillor escaped to India through the Jessore border. During primary interrogation, Hossain's aide Moshiur Rahman, arrested in the capital on Tuesday, told Narayanganj police that he had sheltered Hossain and helped him flee to India, said sources. Mohammad Anisur Rahman, superintendent of police of Jessore range, said Moshiur is from Sharsha upazila in Jessore and is a drug dealer. Talking to our Narayanganj correspondent, Moshiur said, “Nur Hossain took refuge in my house on May 1 after the bodies surfaced in the Shitalakkhya river. After two days of his stay, I told my accomplice Kamal to take him to Raghunathpur border.” Listed criminal Badsha also accompanied Hossain on Moshiur's motorbike to the border. “I used to bring phensidyl from Jessore and supply it to Nur Hossain,” said Moshiur. Moshiur, who is now in the custody of Narayanganj police, was placed on a four-day remand yesterday. In the meantime, Interpol has included Hossain on its “Wanted” list. It said he is wanted on charges of murder, abduction and concealing evidence of crime.